Canada's #1 Junior Golf Tour

May 14-15, 2016
Burlington, ON

Two holes-in-one in freezing cold at MJT Humber College PGM Classic

Burlington, ON – (May 16, 2016) –  Actual snowflakes fell on players warming up for the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s MJT Ontario season opening Humber College PGM Classic at Hidden Lake Golf Club in Burlington on May 14th and 15th, where despite the tough conditions, two holes in one were recorded – one by Calista Zeng from Maple, ON, (Hole 3) and Kyra Vandervoort from Kitchener, ON (Hole 9). Each of them won a special MJT Miura golf gift certificate.

Carter Snowden, 16, of Kitchener, ON, fired 76, 79 (155) to win Low Overall, the MJT Juvenile Boys title and an exemption into the 2016 International Junior Masters in East Aurora, NY. “I stayed focused throughout the round and also used the wind to my advantage instead of fighting against it,” he said afterwards. “In the 8th hole which was my second last hole, I claimed a 25-footer for a birdie to really put pressure on my opponents.  I won this event two years ago and was hoping to repeat.” Runner-up in the division was Eric Shea, 16, of Brantford, ON, 77, 83 (160), and third place went to Luca Carestia, 16, of Ancaster, ON, 80, 84 (164).

The MJT Junior Boys winner was Brendan Seys, 18, of Port Lambton, ON, who shot 80, 78 (158) to hold off Tyler Leclair, 19, of North Vancouver, BC, by two strokes. Seys commented, “The difference today was the conditioning to the winds.  Yesterday it was getting used to the wind and then today it was easier to choose lines off the tee.” He added, “I chose to play in this event because it is a great tour and it is a challenging course, and it feels great to win the division because it is a position I have not been in for a while.” Mackenzie Raines, 17, of Kitchener, shot 83, 84 (167) to come third.

Connor Logan, 14, of Toronto, ON (80-83) and Bavake Sihota, 14, of Caledon, ON, tied for the lead at 163 in the MJT Bantam Boys division, with the title ending up in Sihota’s hands (79-84) after a playoff. Tied for third place in the division were two 14-year-old juniors from Waterloo - Bennett Ruby, (85, 81=166) and Aidan Brady, (80, 86=166).

Emily Zhu, 12, of Richmond Hill, ON,  was the MJT Girls U15 winner after she carded back-to-back rounds of 77 for a 154 total score. “My birdies on the 4th hole and on the 18th hole were my best plays,” she said. “If I hadn’t made those two birdies, I would’ve been tied for the lead which would have ended with a playoff.” Her challenger was Taylor Kehoe, 12, of Strathroy, ON, who shot back-to-back 78’s for a 156 total, and third place was claimed by Madelin Boyd, 12, of Oshawa, ON (80, 84 =164).

The MJT Girls U 19 Champion was Emily Ward, 15, of Niagara Falls, ON, who shot 86, 82 (168) to edge Kate Johnston, 18, of Ayr, ON, by one stroke. Ward said, “I was able to get used to the conditions from yesterday and played different shots according to the conditions. On the third hole, I made a birdie after going double double. I am very happy with the way that I played considering the conditions I was faced with.” Third place went to Logan Hackett, 15, of Oakville, ON (85, 90 =175).

And in the MJT Peewee Boys division, the winner’s trophy went to Owen Kim, 11, of Oakville, after he shot 79, 76 (155) to win by 12 strokes. Kim said about his win, “I think that good shot selection helped me win and that helped me get easy up and downs or makeable putts. A great play is a shot I hit on #9 on the final round where I hit to 4 feet.”  Kevin Lee, 11, of Markham, ON, came second (86, 81=167) and Andre Zhu, 9, of Richmond Hill, came third (86, 81=167).

Over a dozen prizes were also awarded to Long Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin and Golf Town Comeback Winners in the tournament whose names are all listed on the tournament page on the MJT website.

The next Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour stop in Ontario is the MJT IMG Academy Junior World Qualifier at Roseland Golf and Curling Club in Windsor, on May 28-29, a shortlist qualifier for the 2016 IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championship.  For more information on the Boston Pizza-presented Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour, please visit www.maplejt.com or call 1-877-859-4653.

About the MJT:

The non-profit Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour presented by Boston Pizza is Canada’s number-one played Junior Golf Tour as well as the only national junior tour run exclusively by PGA of Canada Professionals and the ‘Road to College Golf’ in Canada. The organization is generously supported by Boston Pizza and Premier Partners Ford of Canada, TuGo, Cleveland Golf, Srixon and Aquafina, in addition to valued Tournament and Product Partners. The MJT hosts more than 60 events across Canada, including free Ford Go Golf Junior Clinics, the MJT Mini Tour for 7-12 year olds, and multi-day events for competitive players which also qualify juniors for international competitions. The program offers annual awards, scholarships, and frequent player incentives to help reward player's performance and participation throughout each season. MJT alumni include many Professional Tour players and PGA of Canada Professionals, as well as Canadian Amateur, National and Provincial Junior Champions. The MJT aims to develop champions, in golf and in life, promoting the game from grassroots through to provincial, national, university and professional level.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour - Elaine Denton, Director of Marketing and Administration edenton@maplejt.com 1-877-859-GOLF